Light Bearers

LIGHTBEARER TODAY

“Jesus said, ‘I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me” (John 14:6 MSG).

The gathering of mourners filled the church and overflowed to the lobby like a melting mountain stream in springtime. It was truly a celebration of life for a beloved friend, family member, and co-worker--for his huge heart to help others in distress, his generosity, and his faith. The loss made a hole seemingly too deep to fill. Of course, we expected to hear that in the pastor’s eulogy. A sudden death always makes us look backward at what we could have done and forward to what we can do.

But he took us a step further outside our grief to lead us to each other, ourselves, and beyond:

LET TODAY BE THE DAY THAT…

…we encourage someone else, tell them how much we love them and why. We don’t want to miss the chance right now.

…we let someone else encourage us as we are vulnerable and share our deepest heartbeats. When we reveal that we are not “fine,” “great,” or “couldn’t be better,” we give someone else the opportunity to come alongside and deepen a relationship.

…we open the door to sharing our faith that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life. It may be the only door that opens for their individual path of peace in God’s kingdom.

 As LightBearers, we can look for occasions to leave no room for darkness.

PRAYER: Lord of Life, we are grateful that even in death we can see you at work and celebrate loss and grief as a path of rescue. AMEN